Ciaran Whelan: “Indiscipline let Dublin down”

Ciaran Whelan believes that indiscipline let the Dubs down in their heartbreaking loss to Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Dublin had the lead from the second minute, when Bernard Brogan scored a goal, before relinquishing it in the final ten minutes thanks to a penalty and some frees.

“The most disappointing thing for them will be the fact that they put themselves in the position they wanted, did everything right for 50 or 60 minutes but just weren’t able to get over the line,” Whelan said in his exclusive column for JOE.

“Whether it was down to inexperience I’m not sure, but their discipline let them down in the last ten minutes or so. The penalty was a big moment in the game.”

The man who will be most hurt from the defeat will probably be Ross McConnell, who gave away the penalty and got sent off. Whelan believes he can have no complaints.

“Ross McConnell brought down Colm O’Neill, and Ross had a couple of other rash moments between then and the finish”

“He was sent off with a couple of minutes to go for another foul which conceded another crucial score, and given that he could well have found himself shown a second yellow for the penalty, there could be few arguments over the red card.”

Cork were victorious on a scoreline of 1-15 to 1-14 and will now go on to meet either Down or Kildare in the final.

To read more from Ciaran Whelan’s column click here.